


Not Alone

by sylvain



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Eating Disorders, Established Relationship, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Kissing, Mental Health Issues, Other, gender neutral reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:59:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26616340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sylvain/pseuds/sylvain
Summary: Prompt Fill: How would the turtles react to their significant other having an eating disorder?CW: themes of mental health and eating disorders (boyfriend is supportive of Reader, ofc)
Relationships: Donatello (TMNT)/Reader, Leonardo (TMNT)/Reader, Michelangelo (TMNT)/Reader, Raphael (TMNT)/Reader, TMNT Turtle of Choice/You
Comments: 2
Kudos: 33





	Not Alone

“I ate before I came,” you say and your bara terrapin looks at you with a hollow sadness that mirrors your own. You have to look away. You know he’s putting it together: the excuses, the baggy clothes, the short temper.

Avoiding the questions in his eyes, you make your way to the couch and pull the electric blanket over your legs. Recently, it seems, you’re always cold. And the heat, hugged to your belly, soothes the emptiness that drags you deeper into yourself more than hunger does.

With mugs of fragrant tea, your boyfriend joins you on the couch. He hands over a drink and takes a sip of his own. Your heart races as you wait for him to speak. You expect an accusation, an interrogation. But he takes his time drinking and nods for you to do the same.

It’s chamomile mint. It helps to calm your nerves and your stomach. You watch him watching you and suddenly tears have sprung up to your eyes. Averting your gaze feels like the only option. You’re not ready to talk about what’s going on. You’re not sure you can explain.

But instead of questions, your boyfriend finishes his tea, sets the mugs on the end table, and opens his arms.

You glance at the gesture with hesitation. But he’s patient, he’s quiet, he’s not going anywhere. His arms are strong, and with a slow curve of his lips you know he’s silently reminding you he can wait for you like this all night if he has to.

Your shoulders shudder with a soundless sob and you shake your head with a deep set frown. You don’t feel like you deserve this. You’re becoming so used to denying yourself the things you want, the things you need, that you’re ready to push him away too.

It’s then, in the moment you tell yourself you shouldn’t accept his arms, that you see a flash of pain and confusion cross his expression. You realize all he’s been hiding, for your benefit, and tonight, for whatever reason, it hurts in a way that doesn’t make you angry. It doesn’t fuel you with the feeling that he’ll never understand. Instead, you feel a surge of hope that he cares enough to try. You cautiously wonder if he cares enough to stick around while you figure this out.

You’re not sure when you started to scoot toward him, but you find yourself resting on his chest with his arms wrapped around you. His plastron is cool under your cheek. His heart beats wildly against your ear.

Your hands reach around his waist and grab onto the edge of his shell. He’s solid, so solid. And when he tells you he’s not going anywhere it feels like he’s reading your mind. Instead of pushing him away, you pull him closer, press in tighter. You close your eyes and your tears fall freely while you’re tucked in his embrace.

He says, “I love you,” and you wonder if he would stop if he knew what was going on inside your mind. You wonder if he could love you despite the pit in your core.

His large hands slide up your back, over your shoulders, and cradle your face. His thumbs caress your cheeks as you struggle to meet his gaze. “I love you,” he says again, and the way he says it helps you believe. His words are as solid as he is.

His lips are insistent against your forehead; they linger as his breath shudders through his nose. When he breaks the kiss, it’s to pull you into his lap and hold you fully in his embrace.

The way he drags his hand in lazy lines up and down your spine tells you he’s willing to give you all the time you need. The way he kisses the tears from your cheeks assures you that you haven’t scared him off.

Through the night he tells you again and again, “I love you,” and each time it’s a reminder of something more.

‘You’re mine.’

'I’m yours.’

'You don’t have to go through it alone.’

'I’m with you.’

'It’s going to be OK.’

'We’ll get through this together.’

He isn’t going anywhere and he isn’t going to push, and neither are you.


End file.
